This week Slovakia celebrated its independence from Communism. As it was a bank holiday, many traveled to the capital to protest the government’s lock down policies. Our little family instead made the 2-hour trip to Pieniny National Park, by the River Dunajec, to visit my wife’s father’s family home. We usually do this for All […]

Thanks to the bloody pandemic, our original plan to drive across Europe and follow the Templar/Cathar route across the South of France and the Pyrenees/Northern Spain was out of the question. As was our backup plan to go to Croatia due to Hungary making it impossible for me to pass through. So, right at the […]

It wouldn’t be summer without a 13 hour drive to the Croatian coast. This year we booked an apartment directly on the sea in Šparadići near Grebaštica, Central Dalmatia. It wasn’t our usual sort of place (there were actually people nearby) but I was pleasantly surprised. Plus, after a month of building a gazebo and a woodshed […]

My daughter wanted to see Hallstatt in Austria so we booked a hotel in the Alps and, following a week’s break by the sea in Croatia, made a 12-hour drive through Slovenia and via the incredible Loblipass to Tauplitzalm above Bad Mittendorf. At 1650 metres (5413 feet) above sea level, we were woefully unacclimatized to our […]

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. This year’s season opening (under Wild Horses MC) was placed in the hands of my club, Tilters, to host up at Svidnik airfield. Hoorah, we thought, as sales of beer and cabbage soup would refill our coffers after a particularly expensive 3-day jaunt […]

On Saturday I managed to get a little riding in. Scarlet needed her engine turning over so I took her out, although with the heavy side-winds and a temperature just a little too cool for the gear I was wearing, the ride felt more like a chore than fun. I also haven’t changed her tyres […]

Yesterday, my friend Rusty met me in Bardejov, East Slovakia to take me hill walking. I left my car and got into his Toyota Hilux Kingcab, then we headed off on the Stara Lubovna road until turning off onto progressively smaller and worse condition roads until ending up in the incredibly middle-of-nowhere, end-of-the-road village of Livovská […]

Having finally bought a new car after our other two became unreliable, a Dacia Duster we’ve named Liška (Fox), we decided to take her out on her maiden voyage and do an old fashioned roadtrip as a family. Cerveny Klastor played a large part in my early years here as it is very close to […]

Last night was bitch cold. It was only about minus 5 but because it’s damp from all the snow melt it felt much colder. But daytime temperatures soared to about plus 7 and I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I’d wanted to ride a month ago as traditionally I try to ride at least […]

We’ve just spent the last couple of weeks covering a honking amount of mileage driving around Britain. The entire trip was a spontaneous idea but turned out pretty damned good. The first leg was from North East Slovakia to Rzeszow airport in Poland, where we flew via Ryan Air to East Midlands in the UK, […]